Rallus indicus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The brown-cheeked rail or eastern water rail (Rallus indicus) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It breeds in northern Mongolia, eastern Siberia, northeast China, Korea and northern Japan, and winters in southeast Asia. It used to be considered a subspecies of the water rail.
The species differs from the slightly smaller nominate form through its paler upperparts, brown-tinged underparts and a brown stripe through the eye. Compared to R. a. korejewi, it is darker above, has a browner breast, white on the throat and a more obvious brown eyestripe. As indicated above, it has different vocalisations to the other forms, and is now usually given full species status, although its behaviour, nest and eggs are identical to those of other subspecies of water rail.
The brown-cheeked rail is 23–29 cm (9.1–11.4 in) in length and can weigh 75–190 g (2.6–6.7 oz). In addition to its distinctive plumage, it has very different vocalisations from the water rail, and it was considered a separate species in early works, including the first edition (1898) of Fauna of British India, but later demoted to a subspecies by E. C. Stuart Baker in the second edition (1929). It was... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-cheeked Rail sighting in Suzhou on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 132nd most-seen of the 171 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-cheeked Rail in Suzhou on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-cheeked Rail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Brown-cheeked Rail sightings, Suzhou ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Fuzhou (China, about 10%), Tokyo (Japan, under 5%) and Beijing (China, under 5%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Brown-cheeked Rail that you can see in Suzhou (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are Common Moorhen (about 70%), Eurasian Coot (about 30%) and White-breasted Waterhen (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-cheeked Rail is recorded against all the birds logged in Suzhou (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
